Application - School of Social Science

Request for Absence from the University and
Approval of Associated Travel (Postgraduate Students)
This form is not required for travel to and from other sites if ALL of the following conditions apply:
(1) a risk assessment covering the mode of travel has previously been performed (i.e. most intercampus and local/domestic travel); and
(2) all activities at the destination will be undertaken in a regulated minimal-risk environment; and
(3) the absence does not involve an overnight stay; and
(4) the associated travel costs do not require prior approval by a financial delegate.
(A) Personal Details and Emergency Contact Advice
Your Unit: School of Social Science Student No.
Your Name: First Day Away:
Discipline: Date of Return:
Emergency Contact
Advice:
Purpose of Travel:
(please provide detail)
Fieldwork Risk Assessment form completed and attached - Refer to (D) below: YES NO
Concurrent leave (including personal leave) has been approved by the Advisor and lodged
with the School Student Administration Officer. YES
Ethical Clearance obtained? N/A YES No
(B) Advisor's Approval:
Advisor's Name: _____________________________________________________________
Advisor's Signature: _______________________________ Date: _____/_____/_________
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(C) Indicative Travel Plan and Budget
You are required to provide an indicative travel and activity plan for the entire period that you will be absent regardless of
whether ot not the travel/activity is being funded by the University. Where the travel/activity is being funded by the University you
will also need to provide a reasonable estimate of the cost. These estimates should be made in accordance with the policies and
practices used by your unit. If funding is being drawn from more than one account, you will need to provide instructions on how much is
to be charged to each account.
TRAVEL FARES
Basic Itinerary Dates Travel Estimate
From - To Departure Arrival By of Cost
Note that all airfares must be
booked through Kistend
Campus Travel if being paid by
the School. You cannot make a
booking until this application
has been approved.
Local fares (i.e. travel within cities)
Sub-total Travel Fares
SUBSISTENCE
Dates Daily Subsistence Rates Location
Location & Activity Days
Arrival Departure Accomm Meals Incidentals Total
Sub-total Subsistence
OTHER
Description Amount For standard UQ subsistence rates see...
http://www.fbs.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=35565
You should check with your unit's finance staff to
confirm that it is appropriate to use these rates and
that sufficient funds are available.
Sub-total Other
SUMMARY COST ALLOCATION
Travel Fares: Account #1: Amount:
Subsistence: Account #2: Amount:
Other: Account #3: Amount:
Total Budget: Total Distribution by Account:
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(D) Risk Assessment & Basic Precautions Checklist
Depending on the nature of the travel and fieldwork being undertaken, you might be required to complete a 'Fieldwork and Work Off-
Campus Safety Plan'. If you are not familiar with the University's Fieldwork and Work Off-Campus OHS Guideline, you will need to read
it before answering the questions below. If you can answer "YES" or "N/A" (Not Applicable) to all of the following questions, you are not
required to complete a 'Fieldwork and Work Off-Campus Safety Plan'.
1. I have read the University of Queensland's Fieldwork and Work Off-Campus OHS Guideline. YES ?
2. I can confirm that all of the planned activities/fieldwork outlined in this application are being
undertaken in regulated and safe environments that are neither unfamiliar nor remote. YES NO ?
3. I can confirm that the risks associated with the modes of travel to be used in undertaking this
fieldwork are very low or negligible. YES NO ?
4. I have sought travel advice for all of the overseas destinations that I am visiting from the Australian
Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). YES N/A ?
see http://www.smartraveller.gov.au
5. I will not be travelling to or undertaking fieldwork in, any overseas destination that DFAT has
advised "do not travel to" or "reconsider your need to travel to".
YES NO ?
6. In undertaking my overseas fieldwork and travel I will respond appropriately to DFAT travel N/A
advisories that have indicated that there is a need to "exercise caution".
YES ?
7. I will register my overseas travel arrangements with DFAT using the smartraveller.gov.au website YES
or through direct contact with DFAT.
N/A ?
8. I have subscribed to receive travel advisory updates on the overseas destinations that I will be YES N/A
visiting using the smartraveller.gov.au website.
?
9. I have obtained information on recommended vaccinations and appropriate basic health YES N/A
precautions for all of the destinations that I will be visiting and will comply with this advice.
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10. I have confirmed that I am covered by the University's Student Domestic and International Travel
Insurance Policy. Cover is available for a maximum period of 6 consecutive months. Extensions
YES ?
can be arranged with the insurer up to 12 months, however an additional premium is usual and the
student will be required to pay for the additional amount from their postgraduate support funds or
personal funds. Requests for extension must be requested by an email to the Insurance Manager -
insurance@fbs.uq.edu.au at least two (2) weeks prior to travel commencing. I note that I am only
covered for up to 15 days of associated 'personal' travel.
11. Having given full consideration to the physical and mental requirements involved in undertaking the
activities associated with this application, I can confirm that I do not have a serious medical
YES NO ?
condition that I should take special precautions to manage.
If you answered "NO" to any of the above questions you are required to complete a
'Fieldwork and Work Off-Campus Safety Plan'.
(E) Statement in Support of Overseas Travel Contrary to DFAT Travel Advice
If your request includes travel to an overseas destination where DFAT has advised "do not travel" or "reconsider your need to
travel" you need to provide additional justification in addition to a 'Fieldwork and Work-Off Campus Safety Plan'. The University
strongly advises that alternate means of conducting the research/fieldwork should be examined.
Before, continuing with your request please note the following:
The University has in place travel insurance for students travelling overseas on authorised business. The availability of cover is
dependent on the circumstances of the claim. In determining whether a claim is accepted the insurer would consider various
matters, including the DFAT warning for that country and whether the loss could be regarded as foreseeable.
Statement:
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(F) Final Checklist & Declaration
I have read the University of Queensland's 'Fieldwork and Work Off-Campus OHS Guideline' and can confirm that I have
conscientiously attempted to assess the 'risks' associated with this fieldwork and have taken reasonable steps to ensure that
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they have been reduced to a very low or negligible level.
I undertake to advise my supervisor of any substantive change to my plans or the safety conditions prevailing for the
destinations that I am visiting and to submit a revised or new 'Safety Plan' should this be warranted by the revised
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circumstances.
I have made a note of the Ace Insurance Limited emergency contact number which is +61 2 8907 5995 (reverse charge call
from anywhere in the world) and The University of Queensland Corporate Travel Policy number which is 01PP529201
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Applicant: Date:
Processing: This form and the accompanying Fieldwork and Work Off-Campus Safety Plan (if required) as well as copies of the DFAT
travel advice for all overseas destinations being visited (if applicable) should be submitted to the appropriate administrative officer in
your unit for checking prior to submission to your Head of School or Centre Director.
(G) Approval
Head of School
or Deputy HOS: Date:
Executive Supervisor
or Equivalent: Date:
(if required, e.g. Executive Dean, Institute Director, DVCR, DVCA.)
DVC International
& Development: Date:
(if required for overseas travel)
Notes:
Requests to travel to a country where DFAT has advised "reconsider your need to travel" and
"do not travel" will require approval from the ExecutiveDean and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (I&D) as
well as the Head/Director of the organisational unit.
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Additional Advice for Completing a Request for Absence from the
University and Approval of Associated Travel Form
Note that this advice is not a substitute for students being intimately familiar with the
University's 'Fieldwork and Work Off-Campus OHS Guideline'.
(A) Personal Details and Emergency Contact Advice
There is no additional advice for this section.
(B) Supervisor's Approval
Your Supervisor should be fully informed of the status of any Ethical Clearance, travel itinerary and any personal leave you wish
to take while absent for travel purposes. It is important you have your Supervisor's approval and signature prior to requesting a
signature from the Deputy HOS.
(C) Indicative Travel Plan and Budget
Please provide a reasonable estimate for your travel budget according to the policies that apply for your unit. It is not expected
that you will be able to produce exact figures supported by quotes when completing this form (that comes later). However, It is
expected that you will be able to come up with a total budget figure for the activity that establishes a reasonable upper limit for the
total of all future claims. In other words, it won't matter if you actually end up spending more of travel fares as opposed to
subsistence so long as you do not exceed the total budget for the activity. Note that you must account for the entire period of
time that you will be absent (i.e. including periods of personal leave).
Example 1 (Travel Fares):
Only list travel between significant locations. Travel within the same general location
Note arbitrary split of a return
airfare (this could have been
$2,400 + $0).
Minor fares to be summarised for the
entire trip on one line.
Example 2 (Subsistence):
Dates must be consecutive and
Example of how to account for personal leave.
Rates are left blank as expenses for this period of time cannot be claimed as a work related expense.
The amounts (daily subsistence rates) that you are able to claim will be determined by the availability of funding and what your
supervisor considers to be reasonable. Your supervisor is under no obligation to authorise the full University rate. Example 4
(below) demonstrates an alternate way of balancing subsistence claims to a funding limit.
Example 3 (Other Expenses):
Hospitality must be clearly identified.
Example 4 (Cost Allocation):
The example below shows how to record both a split costing and "unfunded" travel. Recording a portion of the budget as
"unfunded" is a quick way of balancing a budget to a funding limit without having to fiddle around with the daily subsistence rates.
Note that in this case only $3,000 can be charged to the University.
(D) Risk Assessment & Basic Precautions Checklist
E.2 Typically you will be able to answer 'YES' if you are undertaking a relatively straightforward activity like attending a conference,
visiting another academic institution, attending meetings etc. that does not require you to travel to a remote (e.g. non-urban)
location. The questions is designed to distinguish between 'genuine' fieldwork where you should complete a 'Fieldwork Safety
Plan' (e.g. attending an archaeological dig or interviewing villagers in the Solomon Islands) and more routine activities.
E.3 In determining your response it might be helpful to ask, "what sort of safety regulations apply to the modes of transport that I am
planning to use" and "will I need any special training to use them safely"? Examples of modes of transport that might be
considered inherently dangerous: inter-island canoe, off-road driving (4WD) as well as poorly regulated over-crowded public
transport in developing countries. If using any of these formed part of your travel plan you will have to answer 'NO' to this question
and then complete a 'Fieldwork Safety Plan'.
E.5 If you are not travelling overseas you should answer 'YES' to this question.
Note that DAFT issues mixed travel advisories for many countries. Normally these take the form of a general advice applicable to
the country as a whole with more serious advice being provided for specific regions and localities. If you are not going anywhere
near the region/locality which is subject to the more serious advice you need only concern yourself with matters raised by the
general advice.
Example:
In the example below, if the staff member was not travelling to Nagorno-Karabakh they would interpret this advice as being
"Exercise Caution" and could respond positively to question E.5.
E.6 Quite often you will be able to respond positively to this question simply by following the DFAT advice. However, if you cannot
follow that advice then you should answer "NO" and complete a 'Fieldwork Safety Plan' (for example, you are cautioned against
travel to a particular area but cannot avoid it because that is where you need to do your fieldwork).
(E) Statement in Support of Overseas Travel Contrary to DFAT Travel Advice
In your statement you will need to address three key questions: (1) what are the alternate means of conducting the activity (if any)
and why are they not viable, (2) why can't the activity be delayed until conditions improve and there is less risk, and (3) is it really
that important as to be worth the risk?
(F) Students Final Checklist & Declaration
The sort of substantive changes that you would need to advise your supervisor of are:
• The basic nature of the fieldwork has changed to the extent that you need to either submit a new or update your existing, Safety
Plan.
• The total cost of the activity is likely to exceed the original approved budget and a new determination needs to be made on
whether or not it is reasonable to continue with the activity.
• A travel advisory for any overseas country that you might be travelling to is upgraded (i.e. gets worse).